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- Conor Burns, 29, only realised the fraud when his credit score plummeted.
- It turned out that the £1,351 debt had been incurred almost a year earlier.
- A change of address meant he was no longer pursued for payments.
London resident Conor Burns, 29, has spent the past few months saving up to move into a houseboat.
Since he is going to take out a loan to buy the boat, he will need an impeccable credit history, which he thought he had until March of this year.
To his dismay, he discovered that his credit score had dropped 300 points thanks to a fraud committed against him almost a year earlier.
Identity theft: Criminals took out a credit card in Mr Burns’ name using an old address
A credit card had been issued in her name at Vanquis Bank, but because the scammers used an old address and fake phone and email details, she received no payment requests and remained in the dark for months.
The scammers spent £1,351 in two weeks and failed to pay back the money. Burns realised this when she checked her credit rating and saw it had plummeted.
By then, the debt had already been sold to the debt collection company Lowells, which began demanding that he repay the money.
She quickly reported the fraud and obtained a crime reference number, before contacting Vanquis and its credit agencies in an attempt to clear her name.
Although an obvious scam had occurred, Burns was unable to contact anyone at Vanquis and had to deal with an automated system.
The bank told him they could not speak to him about the issue because he was not a previous customer, even though an account had been opened in his name.
When she contacted the credit reporting agency Checkmyfile, they simply told her to contact Vanquis.
While the adverse effect on your credit score was a result of fraud, in this case the credit agency could do very little because the debt had been transferred to a collection company.
This can only be corrected once the bank that issued the credit card has acknowledged the fraud.
How to avoid identity fraud
Sadly, Burns is not alone. The Financial Ombudsman says that while the most common types of fraud are those where customers are tricked into handing over their bank details or transferring money, identity theft is also common.
One of the difficulties is that it can be difficult to verify unless you religiously check your credit score.
Credit agency Experian is warning customers that it is important to re-register on the electoral roll when moving and update their address with lenders to try to prevent this type of fraud.
Redirecting your mail is also wise, as a few letters sent to an old address may be all scammers need to steal your identity.
What did Vanquis say?
This Is Money contacted Vanquis Bank to ask how the scammers were able to create an account in Burns’ name, without any identity verification or confirmation.
Anyone wishing to obtain a Vanquis credit builder card needs address details for the past three years, as well as information on employment, monthly income and expenses, and bank account details.
It is understood that no fraud risks or concerns were identified at the time of the application.
The fraud investigation only began in March of this year after Burns contacted the bank and discovered that he had indeed been the victim of fraud after criminals used his old address.
At that time, Vanquis removed the account from the debt collection agency and requested that his credit history be deleted.
In May, Vanquis contacted Burns to confirm that the account had been opened fraudulently, but she had not been notified because the confirmation letter was sent to her old address.
A Vanquis spokesperson told This Is Money: ‘We have confirmed that an account opened under Mr Burns’ name was identified as identity fraud following his claim in March 2024.
“We took immediate action, including removing adverse information from his credit file. There was a delay in communication due to Mr. Burns’ change of address and we are pleased that he is satisfied with the outcome.”
Burns’ credit score has not yet been fully updated.
Do you have a credit card in your name? Please contact us at editor@thisismoney.co.uk
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